Monte San Giorgio

Date of the Experience: 14 June 2011

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Panoramic view from the Monte San Giorgio

Video of the Experience

This video has been recorded while climbing the trail from Serpiano to the top of Monte San Giorgio.

Video of the trail from Serpiano to the top of Monte San Giorgio

Additional Video of the Experience

This video has been recorded during the visit of the temporary Museum of the Fossils of Monte San Giorgio, in the town of Meride.

Video of temporary Museum of the Fossils of Monte San Giorgio

View of the town of Meride and Monte San Giorgio

View from the top of Monte San Giorgio

The house at the top of the Monte San Giorgio

A view of the wood along the path to the top of Monte San Giorgio

Natural Site Details

A view of the panorama from the Monte San Giorgio

Name: Monte San Giorgio
State: Italy & Switzerland
Region: Europe and North America
Coordinates: 45.8888888889, 8.9138888889
Date of Inscription: 2003
Secondary Dates: 2010
Criteria: (viii)
Reference Number: 1090 Bis

Short Description: The pyramid-shaped, wooded mountain of Monte San Giorgio beside Lake Lugano is regarded as the best fossil record of marine life from the Triassic Period (245–230 million years ago). The sequence records life in a tropical lagoon environment, sheltered and partially separated from the open sea by an offshore reef. Diverse marine life flourished within this lagoon, including reptiles, fish, bivalves, ammonites, echinoderms and crustaceans. Because the lagoon was near land, the remains also include land-based fossils of reptiles, insects and plants, resulting in an extremely rich source of fossils.